Drowmedary
Deep in the caves beneath the desert sands, foul goddesses sought to fuse the essence of a drow with that of the wandering gamla. The end goal was to find a suitable punishment for those of their followers who thought that the form of a spider monster would be a nice change of pace from their normal backstabbing ways. What they got instead was the drowmedary, nomads of the caves below. Appearance: '''Much smaller than the gamla, drowmedaries stand seven feet tall on average and have pitch-dark skin. The sparse fur which covers their bodies tends to be either deepest black or stark white, leaving only the palms of their hands and the surface of their faces exposed. They stand hunched, with a hump on their back. They are otherwise elflike, with long ears and finely chiseled features. '''Demeanor: '''The Drowmedary are naturally distrustful of divine spellcasters and drow (much less drow divine spellcasters or those who claim a drow goddess as their patron), and are typically reclusive. Other than this, they tend to be generally friendly to those who help them or their families. As they wander, they trade with those they find. Others often find their lack of defined leadership puzzling, but this rarely causes long-term issues except with the most rigid of societies. '''Background: '''Drowmedary started off few in number, but are incredibly long-lived. Although they have no natural predators, the deep caverns contain plenty of unnatural ones to keep their numbers down, and so their population grows slowly. They travel in bands organized roughly along family lines, but these nomadic bands tend to split once they get past 15-20 members. They are highly communal in nature, reacting almost as one to perceived threats down to the smallest child and considering the opinions of each member of the band in any major decision. Anyone can become anything they feel the call to be, and are encouraged to follow their natural inclinations regardless of any other factor. Drowmedary bands only rarely have designated overall leaders for this reason, they instead follow the one whose natural talents are best suited to the situation they currently face. Understandably, given their origins, drowmedaries tend to shy away from true worship of deities, but hold concepts of community, hospitality, and open confrontation to be sacred. They tend to be strongly lawful and usually good alignments, but every individual is their own. Even the most evil among them, though, tend to be more ruthless and greedy than actively destructive. '''Adventures: '''Drowmedaries tend to adventure for one of two reasons. The first and by far the most common is for the good of their band, with the intent to return after achieving something that needs to be done. The second is among those who feel that the society is too stifling, and run away in their own act of rebellion. '''DROWMEDARY RACIAL TRAITS * +2 Constitution, +2 Charisma, –2 Dexterity: '''Drowmedary are tough and gregarious, but their twisted forms sometimes limit their mobility. * '''Medium: '''Drowmedaries are medium creatures and thus have no bonuses or penalties for size. * '''Humanoid (akashic, elf): '''Drowmedaries are humanoids with the akashic and elf subtypes. * '''Low-light Vision: Drowmedaries can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light. (Editor's Note: Though not listed in the original source, both the akashic and elf subtypes grant low-light vision, so I have listed it here) * Normal Speed: '''Drowmedaries have a base speed of 30 feet. * '''Bonus Essence: '''Drowmedaries have inherited the strong natural connection to the powers of Akasha from their gamla forebears, and start play with one bonus essence point in their pool. * '''Poison Spit: '''Once per minute, a drowmedary can spit sedative poison at a creature within 10 feet as a standard action. The target must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 the drowmedary’s character level + the drowmedary’s Constitution modifier) or become staggered for one round. If the target fails its save by 5 or more they instead fall asleep for one round. A drowmedary can invest essence into this ability as though it was a veil; for each point invested, its range increases by 5 feet and the save DC increases by 1. * '''Tribal Teamwork: '''A drowmedary gains a teamwork feat he qualifies for as a bonus feat. As a move action, he may share this feat with all allied drowmedary within 60 feet for a number of rounds equal to his Charisma modifier (minimum 1). * '''Languages: '''Dromedary begin play speaking Common and Undercommon. Drowmedary with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following bonus languages: Dwarf, Elf, Giant, Gnome, and Terran. '''Alternate Racial Traits Web Spit: '''Some drowmedaries lack the poison glands of their brethren, instead being infused with a spider-like essence. Once per minute, a drowmedary with this trait can spit web at a creature within 10 feet as a standard action. The target must succeed at a Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 the drowmedary’s character level + the drowmedary’s Constitution modifier) or be entangled for one round. Regardless of the result of this save, the target’s space becomes difficult terrain for one round as well. A drowmedary can invest essence into this ability as though it was a veil; for each point invested, the range increases by 5 feet and the save DC increases by 1. This ability replaces poison spit. '''Spidery Legs: '''Some drowmedaries have thinner limbs bristling with short hairs which grip like a spider’s. They gain a climb speed of 20 feet. This ability replaces tribal teamwork. '''Favored Class Bonuses Drowmedary adventurers may use any alternate favored class bonus available to drow or gamla.